--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BET, I don't think Richard handled pressure very well, though he seemed to love the limelight (First Alabama QB I ever saw who consistently ran onto the field before putting on his helmet).
Big, strong, fast and a lightning release. But he came into the game in the second half of the national championship Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame in 1973 and immediately fumbled, changing the entire flow of what had been our dominant second half. Then he threw two terrible fourth quarter interceptions in Miami when we were rallying in the Orange Bowl rematch, then blamed the coaches. In response, Bryant allegedly called him Notre Dame's best player that night.
In '75 Sugar Bowl, Richard played the game of his life against Penn State and threw the ball all over New Orleans, and turned himself into a first-round draft pick. 400 yards passing, I believe, during one game early in his career, but it did not end well in New York.
Odd career. Probably a case of putting a drop-back passer into a wishbone slot. Jeff Rutledge made it work. Richard not as much. He made a lot of brilliant plays but left a lot of what ifs on the field, too.
The Notre Dame games certainly didn't end well, obviously, and he was scapegoated by many at the time (and not necessarily wrongly so). We needed him to make a couple of plays in those games and he just didn't make them, though of course we had many other missed opportunities as well. A lot of that, though, I think is also forgotten to history because he went out with such a bang the following year by leading our thumping of Auburn and by winning MVP honors against Penn State in the Sugar Bowl, and also because of the fact that we finished the 1970s so strong with national championships in '78 and '79, so the heartbreak over the Notre Dame losses is somewhat soothed.
Re: the "best player Notre Dame had" comment, that actually happened. If you will recall, back in those days they held a joint banquet with both teams a day or two after the big bowl games finished, and Bryant said it when he spoke at that. Kind of a low comment, but I guess it was just used as a motivational tactic.
You are definitely right, though, that he was just kind of a unique character. He was really different than what we typically had, especially under Bryant, and I honestly never believed that he ever really fit with our offensive scheme. I've always honestly thought that he should have probably gone elsewhere, but he was an Alabama native who grew up wanting to play for Bryant, and he did just that, even if objectively some other places made more sense for his playing style.
Another one people forget: Coming out of Mobile, Todd was actually committed to Auburn for a long time. Shug recruited him to be Pat Sullivan's heir apparent, and this was back when Auburn ran one of the more wide-open passing offenses you could find in big-time CFB. I was at an event several years back, and Todd told a good story about how he finally came to meet Coach Bryant in Tuscaloosa, and went up to his office and asked him if Alabama would start throwing the football more. Bryant looked down upon him, sinking into that couch he had in the office, and said something to the effect of, "Richard, we just had the best passer we've ever had at Alabama [Scott Hunter], and we went 6-5.... So the answer to your question is 'no.'" He came to Alabama anyway, of course, and that was that. Over the years, though, I can't help but think about how different things would have been had he gone to Auburn. At the very least, they would have been a far tougher opponent in those last few years under Shug than they were.
One last addendum on Todd: He's gone on to have a very successful career in investment banking and has worked at several large firms. Definitely not your typical jock-type, I've met him a few times and can tell you he is a very bright man.